The Binary Rifle has been changed from its Halo 4 rendition in that it now fires a concentrated beam of antimatter-infused energy, in a similar fashion to a Halo: Reach-exclusive weapon: the Focus Rifle.

To land a kill with the weapon, at least 75% of the beam must hit.

It is less effective against moving targets unless the player has a steady hand and aim.

The weapon can now be safely hipfired as it no longer has a spread penalty, allowing for more hipfire kills to be earned with it, although it has moderate vertical recoil when hipfired.

Players who are targeted with the Binary Rifle receive a bright glare on their visor to alert them. This is even more noticeable when the Binary Rifle is wielded by Soldier Snipers.

Like with the Incineration Cannon, the Binary Rifle can kill a player character in the campaign and make them unrevivable until they respawn.

For this reason, players should be careful of Soldier Snipers, as they are commonly seen with this weapon, especially on Heroic or Legendary.

Warzone and Arena feature two variants:

Retina of the Mind's Eye: an improved Binary Rifle with increased magazine size of 4 rounds and total ammo count of 16 rounds, useful for prolonged long range engagements.

Twin Jewels of Maethrillian: an advanced Binary Rifle featuring dual beam emitters that fire longer and deal extra damage to armor with much less vertical recoil but the weapon cannot deal headshots to the front or back of an enemy's head. This weapon is ideal for use against heavy armor, vehicles, and bosses, but is otherwise not very effective against Knights.